The agricultural value chain concept has been used since the beginning of the millennium, primarily by those working in agricultural development in developing countries. Although there is no universally accepted definition of the term, it normally refers to the whole range of goods and services necessary for an agricultural product to move from the farm to the final customer or consumer.

The Senior Program Officer will take primary responsibility for delivering commercially successful, well attended and respected summit that explores Agricultural Value Chain financing in Africa, overseeing all aspects of the summit with particular responsibility for sourcing and securing speakers.

This is a fantastic opportunity for the candidate to engage with global stakeholders of Africa’s Agribusiness sector, and great for anyone interested in increasing their experience in business development, consultancy or client relations and work in development of Africa.

You will be expected to be able to priorities your workload effectively and work to tight deadlines.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

· To create a comprehensive topic briefing document/concept note for the summit which among other things will outline:

o An overview of the topic (Agricultural Value Chain financing in Africa) and its validity as a stand alone event

o An account of the likelihood that the event will encourage the participation of paying delegates.

o The highlights of the current issues faced with Agricultural Value Chain financing in Africa,

· To identify and invite speakers maintaining communication throughout the conference production cycle

· To communicate by phone and email with key industry figures to determine the validity of proposed topic, sub-themes, timing and locations

· Collating of content for Website and the summit itself

· Securing of key partners and sponsors

· To research all possible events covering the proposed topic to analyze potential conflicts in dates or overexposure

· To write the conference program and to attend to all matters relating to and/or ancillary to the successful conducting of the event.

· To highlight possible sponsors and support the marketing of sponsorship opportunities for events and supervising the work of sales and marketing staff

· To plan for a post-conference internal and external reports

· Assist in any logistics planning, pre-event logistics management, as well as onsite and post-event logistics.

· Where necessary assist in budgeting, financial and cash management for the events.

· Undertaking such other duties as directed by the CEO and/or COO

· Onsite Attendance – Attending events to ensure excellent delivery and smooth running on the day. Often this will include opening your conference. This is an opportunity to represent the company and to network with key players and speakers within the sector.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

· Solid event planning background

· Must be responsible, reliable and trustworthy

· Ability to use your own initiative is essential you will be required to work with minimal supervision at times

· Must be computer literate as use of databases / IT systems is essential.